Freedom Springs

My mom, brother, and myself went yesterday (Saturday) and had so much fun. Everyone was so friendly and the water slides were a blast. They keep everything very clean. I also will say the supervisor lifeguard, Tanner went above and beyond to make sure I was okay (my eyes had a reaction to the chlorine) and that kind of care for guests means a lot to me so I wanted to note it.

What a great water park!!! The grounds are so clean, friendly staff, and so many options to check out! Slides, diving boards, splash pad areas, lazy river, and a play ground on the outside. Lots of space for lots of chairs. They offer daily passes, season passes, and splash passes-- to fit all of your family's needs. Lockers, restrooms, showers, and sunscreen pump stations are all offered on location. They also have a confession stand offering food and drinks! Great place to spend a summer day!

We got together with a large group of friends to enjoy an afternoon at the water park. Since we were a group of 10, we qualified for a pass that got us in for $5.50/person. My toddler granddaughters, aged 1 and 2, were free. I was really impressed when we were handed one sample sized bottle of zinc oxide sunscreen per person at the gate. I was even more impressed when I passed thru the gates and saw the sunscreen station that was set up for all guests to reapply, as needed. Great idea and fantastic perk.I'm a serious germ phobe and locker rooms at public pools and water parks typically give me serious anxiety. But I have to say, the womens locker room was very well kept and there was absolutely no standing water, anywhere. I was even more grateful for the cleanliness since I had 2 toddler in tow. There was plenty of room for me to lay a towel down over the double row of benches to diaper and dress my little ones without being a space hog and getting in others way. Everyone in our large group really enjoyed the lazy river. It's a nice size, with a section that you can choose to either take a path under sprinklers or avoid it all together. There seemed to be a few places where you could get in and out, but most of us just used the main entrance/exit. I didn't get to try out the slides, since I had 2 toddlers with me. But my teenager obviously enjoyed them and rode the slides with his buddies for most of our visit. When he tired of slides and the lazy river, he got himself a burger from the snack stand and said it was good. If I were to complain about anything, it would be a few issues with the "kiddie" area. First, there is not one single spot in the play gym that you can stand without being sprayed with water. It kept my granddaughters and I from getting in it more than once. It's impossible to see where you're even going and not enjoyable, at all. My granddaughters both panicked when I walked them thru it. I noticed during our entire visit that not many children really played on it, mostly around it. The side of the pool with the walk-in entrance is also lined with orange cones that are mega toddler attractors...which makes the marching lifeguard constantly scold them to stop, no matter how much their parents are clearly trying to deter them. The parents of the other children that my granddaughters made friends with also stopped even trying to get their children to leave them alone because the lifeguards clearly were going to continue to bark at them to stop playing with them, no matter how much their caregivers were clearly trying to get them to leave them alone. The area to the side that's set up more for toddlers was pretty cool. It's a neat cause/effect dam type system. If we ever go back, I would bring some toys for the kids to play with in it.

Good water park, there are lockers to put your stuff in and the key they give you is waterproof so you can always keep it on you. The lazy river is fun, but being in a tube is required. The website says there are diving boards but there were none. Not much to do besides the lazy river and the slides if you are a teenager since you wouldn't go in the toddler section. The concessions stand closed 30 mins before the park closed at 8:00 pm so I never got to try anything since I got there at 6:00 and was hoping to eat near the end before we left. (I prefer later swimming and I don't like sunscreen.) I will be coming back again sometime and hopefully I'll get to try the food, but I'm not sure if it's actual food or just ice cream, because there were pictures up that had drumsticks and ice cream on a stick.

Heads up, especially on a warm day - the parking lot here is absolutely dreadful. Every lane dead ends so if you don't find a spot, you have to back up into the two people who followed you down that lane because there's no hope of turning around since everyone and their brother made their own parking spots as well. If you're lucky enough to find a place and don't leave in frustration as we almost did, it does get better.The place is clean, but it is full of young lifeguards who are on a bit of a power trip. Now don't get me wrong, I know they have a tough job that I want nothing to do with in keeping the tiny children -- and adults for that matter -- alive. But at the same time, there's no need to scream at kids who legitimately don't know that they can't stand still for 5 seconds in a certain area that doesn't have a "no standing" sign. Give the kids a break.Speaking of breaks, they do have a period of time where they clear everyone out of the water. This isn't clearly communicated and I honestly don't know how often it is or when it is, and I don't recall them announcing it. I just know that when we got our stuff to ready to go, everyone else followed suit. We didn't stick around to see how long the break was, but it must have been in excess of 30 minutes.Don't plan on having a place to sit, there aren't nearly enough chairs for the amount of people that are there. Just pray that you're lucky enough to walk by someone as they're leaving. This would be fine if the lockers worked, but there isn't any clear instruction on how to use them (I would have been afraid to admit this, but we weren't the only ones confused so if we just aren't smart enough at least we aren't alone) and many of them were broken.That being said, once you're in the water there seems to be plenty to do. We have a 1-year-old and he was pretty happy with the little splash pad and the slightly larger play area, but it had one of those big buckets that dumped on everyone every few minutes and he's not quite ready to withstand gallons upon gallons of water being dumped on his head, so we opted to stay away from there for the most part. Very questionable design though to have that RIGHT next to the little kids's splash pad.I think we'll probably enjoy this more as our little guy grows up, but it's worth a try if you're in the area. But if you're not into crowds, this may not be for you.

Freedom Park is good for a fun time during a cool or cloudy day, but holy moly if it's a hot and sunny day, because there is zero shade here. (And by "zero" I mean none, nada, nothing. Not even a tree under which to seek relief.) So you're left standing there, sweating in the sun, cajoling your kid to hurry up and go down the hot-as-lava slide so that you can get the heck out of there and go somewhere cooler. Kids will love it during any type of weather, though, as there are bridges to traverse, swings to swing on, ladders to climb, rock walls to conquer ... all kinds of fun kid things. There is also a free-standing restroom and walking/running path that maneuvers around the park. Freedom Park is right outside of the Freedom Springs Greenwood Aquatics Park, so there are lots of entertaining things to do around here.

Stood in line for more than 30 mins with a child & was told we will have to wait longer for people to leave before we can enter. Way overpopulated.. obviously not big enough to accommodate all residents. I will NOT come again or ever due to these reasons with the heat. I'd rather spend triple at an actual water park big enough for all. You just lost business & I will pass my experience on to everyone I know as well as social media.Waste of time & gas.

They've added more cleanup stations and more trash cans, and are in the process of putting in what looks like a double gate, which will be much better than the entrance they currently have. It's still free for now, but rumor is that it won't be for long...so I guess we'll see. Personally, I wouldn't mind knowing that the other dogs that are there are up on their shots, right now anyone can come in, and if it switches to a pay park, people will have to show proof of good medical care. We've only had a couple of issues with aggressive dogs, mostly huskies for some reason. Mostly the regulars all know each other, if not by name then by sight or by the dog's name. Be warned that if there has been any rain or snow in the past couple of days that it will be muddy and that there are a couple of very large puddles that tend to stick around for a long time, so waterproof boots are a good idea and baths may be needed after a visit.

Too expensive! Didn't go in. Reverse discrimination. If you don't live in Greenwood, it costs more!

Yesterday (Memorial Day) was our first time at Freedom. We got there 10 minutes after they opened. The line was all the way down the sidewalk & into the grass. The line was moving rather quickly then it suddenly came to a complete stop. About 10-15 minutes of waiting w/o movement, a manager came out to apologize for the delay. She then explains the issue & offers everyone in line cups of ice water. I've never had a business do that. I thought that was very sweet & thoughtful. Even though it was busy & packed with people, it never felt overly congested. They had chairs lined up all around the pools. Which was more than any other pool I've been to. Heck, I even seen a lifeguard carrying a chair for a guest. The employees went above & beyond for the guests. My nephew dropped his freshly bought drink & a lifeguard went and got him another one for free. Needless to say, I was very impressed with the staff & will definitely be back. Thank you for doing an excellent job & being considerate & respectful! ;-)